amanda91's Avatar 500
by angrymermaids
Summary: All my entries in the Avatar 500 contest on LJ. Ratings vary. Expect canon pairings. Individual info and summaries within.
1. Prompt 19: Light, North

**Title**: North  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: K  
**Words**: 422  
**Genre**: Gen  
**Chars**: Zuko and Iroh  
**Summary**: En route to the Northern Air Temple, Iroh finds a way to cheer Zuko up.

EDIT: It won first place! Spiffy banner on my LJ.

* * *

"Prince Zuko, you must see this."

"I don't want to."

Zuko heard a sigh and slow footsteps as his uncle crossed the room to where he lay, staring blankly at the ceiling with his uncovered eye. A warm, heavy hand rested on his shoulder. Uncle was tired—Zuko could hear it in his voice. He was tired because Zuko was exhausted yet sleepless and numb yet suffering, and because of all that had happened in the past three weeks.

"A bit of fresh air will do you good, my nephew. Just for a few minutes."

Zuko relented, but shrugged off Iroh's help to sit and then to stand, then reeled with dizziness so that he had to resort to leaning on him to keep from falling over. Uncle guided him to the door and tucked a rough boat cloak around his thin, hunched shoulders, citing the cold and wind out on the deck. Very carefully, they made their way outside into the clear Northern night.

The prince's eye widened. The black sky was illuminated with sheets of color, green and red and yellow with wisps of blue and purple, that shifted and danced almost like fire. But he'd never seen anything like it, no fire or trickery that could even compare to what he saw now.

"What is it?" he asked, wonder entering his voice against his will.

"It is the celestial lights, one of the great mysteries of the North," Iroh replied. "The Water Tribes believe that it is caused by dancing spirits. Others believe it comes from an ancient fox spirit throwing snow into the sky with his tail…"

"Which is true?"

"I don't know, my nephew. Both, maybe? Or neither."

Both of them were silent for a few moments. Suddenly overwhelmed by dizziness, Zuko shuddered and lowered his gaze. He squeezed his eye shut and willed himself to stay standing. Iroh held his gaunt frame closer, and he didn't pull away.

Once the spell had passed, he looked back at the old general. "Uncle? Where do you think it comes from?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Maybe the spirits send it. Perhaps it is a trick of the light…" He sighed, this time sounding almost wistful rather than weary. "But it always reminds me of the purest, most beautiful firebending… firebending harmony."

They fell silent again, just watching the lights ebb and flow, shifting and changing in the heavens. Zuko took a deep, shivering breath and closed his eye.

"I'm tired."

"I know. Let's get you inside where it's warm."


	2. Prompt 20: Spontaneous, Don't Think

**Title**: Don't Think  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: T  
**Words**: 500 exactly  
**Genre**: Romance, Friendship, Humor  
**Char/Pair**: Suki/Sokka, Zuko, mention of Aang/Katara  
**Summary**: Sokka's greatest talent is also his most crippling weakness. Or, Sokka's misadventures in love.  
It won second place! Spiffy banner on my LJ.  
**

* * *

**

Sokka never considered it a handicap, that he was the only one of his friends capable of coming up with a decent plan. Everyone cited this ability whenever he as a nonbender felt useless, which, despite his other numerous and extremely badass skills, was always an issue.

There was just one problem with this—he couldn't not plan.

He didn't see it as a problem until he met up with Suki again after the Boiling Rock.

Sokka noticed _everything_ when it came to Katara and Aang, their shy, sweet gestures that let everyone around them, minus the person they were trying to get through to, know how they felt about each other. Aang was surprisingly thoughtful—although he'd been annoyed when the little airbender took his fishing line and ruined it, Sokka couldn't deny that a new necklace was exactly what Katara needed then. And when she was feeling overwhelmed, trying to be everyone's mother? Secret dance party. It was like Aang had a sixth sense for these things.

And so, taking a cue from two kids who really shouldn't know more about romance than he did, Sokka tried to apply his usual approach to courtship.

It didn't work well. Everything seemed fake. He got an idea, and then overdid it on the execution, usually scrapping the whole thing before it came to fruition. He wanted everything to be perfect, but couldn't see yet that_ that _was the problem. Luckily, Suki returned his love despite his nerdiness, so it all worked out.

But he wanted the first time they made love to be something special, unmarred by overplanning and overthinking, but not a blind rush. That wasn't his style, and it wasn't hers, either.

He went to Zuko for help. Zuko, after sternly threatening to immolate him if he _ever_ told anyone about this conversation, sat him down for the first bit of brotherly advice that either of them had ever given or received.

"The first time is probably going to be awkward and underwhelming," Zuko said ruthlessly. His right ear was bright pink, betraying his carefully calm delivery. "So, uh... just focus on, you know, being together. Romance, I guess. You'll get better at the rest eventually. Go slow and remember what she likes."

_Suki likes roses and scented candles_, was the first thing Sokka thought. Zuko's face upon stumbling across his preparations, not to mention what happened later that night, let him know two things: one, that was not what Zuko had meant, and two, he'd overplanned again.

It plagued him even as his relationship with Suki blossomed, as years passed and they fell even deeper in love. He couldn't surprise her. He didn't know how.

The first time they kissed stuck in his mind. How effortless it had been...

Decades later, when they were old and gray and still together, Suki maintained that the most romantic thing he ever did was burst into the dojo, wild-eyed and unannounced, and ask her, "Suki, will you marry me?"


	3. Prompt 21: Crack, Perfectly Matched

**Title:** Perfectly Matched  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K  
**Words:** 500  
**Genre:** Romance... or something  
**Char/Pair**: Pakku/Kanna  
**Summary:** Kanna is unimpressed by Pakku's efforts. Five drabbles on their reunion.**  
Note**: The hardest part of this was writing a fic _not_ involving Zuko in some way.

Edit: It won second place!

* * *

Only one woman of the Southern Water Tribe is unimpressed when the Northerners shows up in their fancy ships, wearing fine clothing and bringing with them two dozen highly skilled waterbenders.

The younger tribe members are delighted with everything: the beautiful structures made of ice that rose from the ground like magic, the effortless displays of waterbending, and the handsome smiles on the faces of the exotic newcomers.

Kanna, as the matriarch of the tribe, receives them politely and makes sure they feel welcome. But she has no kind words for the old master, his gifts, or his graceful apologies.

o.O.o

The Northerners, including the women, seem slightly scandalized when they first witness the Southern women hunting, fishing, and then dressing the fruits of their efforts. Even the girl children help out, laying out strips of meat to dry and not caring when bloody juices spatters their clothes. In turn, the little boys help to gather shellfish on the beach and to cure animal hides right alongside their sisters.

Pakku means it as a compliment when he says the Southern women carry the burdens of men.

"We have to," Kanna retorts. "Our men actually decided to go to war."

o.O.o

She watches serenely as the waterbenders put on a show at the bonfire. The streams of water and shards of ice glitter in the flickering light, prompting oohs and aahs from the onlookers, especially the children.

Kanna shows no change in emotion. Out of the corner of her vision, she notices Pakku's eyes dart over to her every few minutes. She will not give him the satisfaction of seeing her look at him. It is ridiculous, as if they were silly children once again.

She turns her head away when he offers her a beautiful flower shaped out of ice.

o.O.o

"Your granddaughter is an excellent waterbender."

"My daughter-in-law came from a long line of waterbenders." Kanna stirs the sea prunes with a practiced hand, her face showing no expression.

"She quickly passed the Avatar in skill," Pakku says, a strangely determined tone to his voice.

"I suppose you give yourself credit for that."

"I wouldn't teach her at first," he says. "_You_ convinced me."

"I'm surprised. You never listened to anything I said before." She has nothing further to say to him. When the sea prunes are done, she doesn't offer him any.

o.O.o

Three months after the arrival of the Northerners, a miracle happens. Akitla, the youngest of the Southern girls at only four, makes a little blob of water float up in front of her eyes. It lingers for a few moments, and then falls.

Pakku doesn't do it in the middle of the village or right in front of Kanna's igloo, or anywhere he knows she'll see him.

But hidden, she watches him quietly teach Akitla how to make the water float over her hands, how to make it flow around her fingers.

Kanna smiles at him for the first time.


	4. Prompt 22: Knight, Toph's Field Trip

**Title**: Toph's Field Trip  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: K+ for one rather dirty riddle  
**Words**: 500  
**Genre**: Friendship  
**Characters**: Toph, Zuko  
**Summary**: Toph shows affection by punching people and making them uncomfortable. Five drabbles on the friendship of Toph and Zuko.  
**Note**: The first drabble takes place immediately after FBM; the others take place any time between then and TSR. I had so much fun writing Pakku/Kanna drabbles that I had to do it again!

* * *

Toph sensed Zuko sitting across the courtyard from everyone else, far removed from the circle where they sat around the fire. Even the visit to the dragons couldn't bring the others to invite him over, and until they did, he was sitting by himself.

Well, Toph had no use for their pettiness.

She left the circle, shuffling on her knees until she reached him. Wordlessly, she dug her hands into his coarse, shaggy hair and climbed up onto his back.

"Ow! What are you—!"

"You're going to carry me around until my feet are better, Princess. Yip yip!"

o.O.o

Toph sighed loudly. "I'm bored. Do you know any good jokes?"

"Uh... not really."

"Why not?"

"I was in the Navy for three years. All the jokes I know are kind of... inappropriate."

"Oh, come on, I'm not a _baby_. I already know the important things—how to spit and swear and stuff. Don't you remember being twelve?"

Zuko paused, and then shrugged. "All right. What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree?"

"Heard it. Ask me another one—oh, wait, here comes Katara. Wait until she's gone and _then_ ask me another one."

o.O.o

As Aang practiced, Toph lay on the temple floor with her hands behind her head and her feet propped up on a stone block. She stared blankly up at the painted ceiling, brow furrowed slightly, as if imagining the ancient artwork that Zuko had already described to her.

"Do you miss them?" she asked the standing firebender.

"Who?"

"Your family."

"Aside from my uncle, no. Absolutely not. They're evil, cruel, vicious, manipulative... I'll _never_ miss them."

"...It's all right, I won't tell anyone." She was silent for a moment. "I miss mine, after all."

o.O.o

It always amused Toph that whenever Katara was nearby, Zuko's breathing and heartbeat sped up in terror, followed by him quickly walking in the opposite direction. When teased about it, he denied everything.

"Hey, Zuko, are you handsome? You _sound_ handsome." Nonchalantly, she picked her nose and wiped her finger on the back of his head.

"Um, I wouldn't know... it's kind of hard to tell, on yourself."

"Hey! Katara! Is Zuko handsome?"

"No," was the waterbender's snarling reply.

"Toph... _why_ would you _do_ that?"

"What? I just want to know if you're handsome!"

o.O.o

Zuko made Aang practice the firebending form for three hours until he got it right, not yielding until he was confident that the Avatar could do it right under any circumstances. Toph sat on a tall boulder nearby, heckling. Zuko had promised to show her a large rock garden that he had discovered on his first visit to the temple.

Once Aang had been dismissed (and had flown away with a hearty "flameo, hotman!"), Toph slid off her boulder and climbed onto Zuko's back.

"Let's go, Big Brother!"

Zuko smiled. She never called him that around the others.


	5. Prompt 23: Soothe, The Woman in Red

**Title:** The Woman in Red  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K+  
**Words:** 487  
**Genre:** Family, Hurt/Comfort  
**Characters:** Azula, Ursa  
**Warnings:** Spoilers, possible triggers?  
**Summary:** Azula can never tell if what she sees is real. Occurs post-series.

* * *

She sees and hears a lot of things that aren't real, so much that she can no longer tell what truly exists and what is only in her mind.

But what she _feels_... what she feels is always real.

A gentle touch, soft fingers callused by recent years of hard work. A warm embrace that smells of tea and crushed roses, just the same as before. Arms, tender but strong, that hold her close and contradict the vivid horrors of her visions.

The Avatar. His friends. Her brother. Her father. Her mother. Ty Lee. Mai. They all appear, their faces distorted, peering at her from every reflective surface, every cup of cool water. Sometimes they sit next to her, saying things, horrible, delicious things, things that she wants and yet finds repulsive.

"You're not real," she sometimes says, when she believes it. "Go away. Leave me alone." Sometimes, though, the voices are stronger, and she lets them stay. She argues with them, but they always win. They're always right, even when they're not.

"You're a monster, Azula," her mother says in her father's voice.

"I don't care what you think," Azula whispers back, but she is (sometimes) lying, and hot tears run down her face. The father/mother won't leave, it won't go away, she doesn't want to hear it, but she always wants it to speak again—

The arms return. She is held close, like a child, a cool hand stroking her short-cropped hair. There is breath on her cheek as words are whispered into her ear, words she can't make out, but she understands.

Some days are better than others. Some days she sees and hears only what is around her, the clean white walls, clean white bed, clean white gown, clean white silence. On those days, the woman in red brings a silk handbag with her, sits next to her on the bed, and makes her pretty, almost human again. She trims the ragged ends of her hair, dusts her face with powder and rouge, and paints her nails in every color that her room isn't. Her touch is light, gentle, peaceful. Azula doesn't recognize the woman, at least, not every time. Nor does she recognize these feelings, always pushed and kicked aside as signs of weakness—

Some days are not so good. She doesn't even see her room, she hears only the deafening voices of her visions. The words hurt, they drag her down to a place she doesn't want to go, but it seems so enticing, a place she can't resist, even though she _knows_ in a tiny corner of her mind that if she goes there she'll never come back—

She screams. She cries. She tries to break things. On those days, there is no powder, no nail polish—the woman in red just holds her, strokes her cheek, kisses her forehead, stays with her until she falls asleep.


	6. Prompt 24: Contest, Unstoppable Force

**Title:** Unstoppable Force  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** T  
**Words:** 500  
**Genre:** Gen-ish  
**Char/Pair**: June, Combustion Man  
**Summary:** June never had a rival. At least, not until now. Five drabbles.  
**Note**: Any shippiness you may see in this is very optional. I totally ship these two, but if you prefer to read it as gen, that works too.

* * *

Finally, after two days of tracking the scent through a smelly city and then a dense forest, Nyla ran as straight and fast as an arrow over gently rolling hills. Foamy spit dripped from his jaws—they were getting close.

A black dot on the horizon became a man, running as fast as his puny legs could carry him. June cracked her whip, grinning in anticipation. Almost there...

There was a popping sound, and an explosion rocked the countryside.

When the smoke cleared, June looked up to see a colossal assassin slinging the charred body of her target over his shoulder.

o.O.o

June didn't have _rivals_. Occasionally someone would end up taking the same job as her, but they served only to get in the way, never posing any kind of professional threat. They were beneath her notice. Normally, she just wouldn't have bothered.

Until now.

As quickly as the assassin had come, he was gone. She followed. She caught up with him half a day later, still furious.

"Hey, asshole! What is your problem? You can't just take someone's target!"

He looked up from the hideously ugly bird he was feeding, dark eyes surprisingly mild.

"Nothing personal. Just business."

o.O.o

"Got a big job. Could use your help."

"Forget it, Sparky." June tossed back her drink. She was still sore from their first encounter, and didn't want anything to do with him.

"Worth your time. Call it an apology."

She briefly looked over his shiny steel prostheses. That was Fire Nation metalwork: detailed, high-tech, made from high-quality materials, and above all, expensive. Low-rung hitmen couldn't afford pretty stuff like that. Maybe working with him would make up for the quarry she lost...

She frowned. No.

"I work alone," she said, voice hard.

"So do I."

o.O.o

She should have known the job would go south. But her mind had been clouded by the thought of the gold promised by that pervy old fatass. As soon as she could move, June trudged down to the nearest bar.

By chance, he happened to already be there. "You smell like a Ba Sing Se whorehouse," he said in a moment of uncharacteristic eloquence. He bought her a drink. She needed it.

"If a little scar-faced Fire Nation bratling offers you a job, don't take it," June said. "It'll end badly and you'll never get your money."

o.O.o

Nothing is permanent in this line of work. You live day by day, week by week, held up by your reputation and how well you can live up to it. There's always someone who needs someone else to be caught and brought back, immobile, and they'll pay dearly, depending on how badly they want it. Job after job. Nothing long-term.

Everything is temporary. Friends, allies, rivals, lovers. Whatever.

"You're an idiot," June said to her sake. "I told you not to take the job."

Oh, well. At least she had her monopoly back.

She'd get over it eventually.


	7. Prompt 25: Jail, Just a Kid

**Title:** Just a Kid  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K  
**Words:** 453  
**Genre:** Gen  
**Char/Pair:** Aang.  
**Summary:** The all-powerful Master of the Elements has never felt this helpless.  
**Notes:** Set during "The Blue Spirit." This turned out way sadder than I intended.

* * *

This was the end. He just knew it.

He saw just how secure the fortress was when the archers carried him in, bundled up in enough rope to lasso a camelephant—walls within walls, tower upon tower upon tower, patrolled by hundreds of grim-faced or masked men. Metal doors opened and closed by teams of a dozen each. And on top of it all, chains: he couldn't move. He could barely airbend—not enough to escape. Not even enough to displace the guards that chained him up, locked the door behind him, and stood guard outside.

It was over.

How did the world get like this? How could the Fire Nation that Aang knew, in all of its bright, passionate beauty, turn into this hard, cruel _monster_, seemingly overnight?

His heart hurt just thinking about it. _No,_ he told himself. _Those days have passed._

"I have to get these frogs back to Katara and Sokka," he said aloud. "There has to be a way."

There wasn't, and he knew it. But he had to say it, he had to hold onto a reason to keep fighting, to keep thinking and hoping that maybe somehow an opportunity would present itself. He struggled against his chains. He blew futile gusts of wind at the door.

"Avatar Roku? Avatar Kyoshi?" Aang looked up at the ceiling as if speaking to the Universe itself. "Maybe you could help me?"

They were silent. Just as he had expected.

Time passed. He wasn't sure how much. It felt like hours, but it could have been a few minutes—being chained here was depressing and hard on his shoulders, but above all, it was _boring_.

Little cold, slimy frog bodies wiggled against his skin. They were thawing out. Katara and Sokka _needed_ those frogs; if he lost them now he didn't know what he would do—

It was hopeless. His eyes prickled, but he forced himself not to cry. Crying would help nothing, even though sometimes he wished it would. He wished he was little again, he wished he wasn't the Avatar, he wished the world was peaceful again and that he could go home to find everyone waiting for him, as if it had all been a bad dream. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember. His friends, both from his temple and the rest of the world, the other monks, even the last few, fading memories of his mother, back at the Eastern Air Temple, before he was old enough to even know what the Avatar _was_.

No. It hurt too much.

Aang hung his head. A tear dripped onto the metal pedestal near his foot.

"Someone help me," he whispered. "Anyone. Please?"


	8. Prompt 26: Glow, Between the Storms

**Title: **Between the Storms  
**Author: **amanda91  
**Rating:** T  
**Warnings:** Crack pairing! (written with absolute seriousness)  
**Words:** 495  
**Genre:** Romance  
**Characters/Pairings:** Lt. Jee/Zuko  
**Summary:** The understanding between them eventually leads to something more.  
**Note:** This was the first slash I ever wrote, ever. Please tell me if I'm Doing It Wrong, and don't pull your punches!

* * *

The General doesn't suspect a thing, otherwise he would have had Things To Say to both of them—to the prince, for involving himself with a subordinate, and to the lieutenant, for involving himself with a man barely out of adolescence.

The crew _might_ suspect, but they say nothing. To mention it, correct in their suspicions or not, would be to issue a challenge.

o.O.o

_[When the storm subsides and everything is put back in order, it is apparent that something about the atmosphere on the ship has changed. No doubt the General's tale, compounded by the prince's role in saving the helmsman, had a great deal to do with it._

_ The prince feels raw in the aftermath of it all, his carefully constructed walls now broken down at his feet. It turns out to be an improvement, though, as his men, including the lieutenant, now look at him with respect instead of casual dislike.]_

o.O.o_  
_

It's not really about the sex (though that's nice, too). They don't want what can simply be bought at any dockside brothel between here and the Spirit World.

They want companionship. Someone to sit with, to drink with, to sleep with. Someone that both of them have been deprived of for far too long.

o.O.o

_[In the mornings, the lieutenant strops a razor on the sole of his boot and shaves the prince's head while the latter sits backwards on a chair. Eyes closed and chin resting on the chair back, the prince asks if he will shave his face, too._

_ The lieutenant suggests that he dab a bit of milk on his upper lip and let the ship's cat lick it off._

_ The prince is not amused.]_

o.O.o_  
_

The crew members who silently look for signs notice that the prince, who hates to be touched, gets the lieutenant's attention by tapping him on the arm. The lieutenant, who is usually quite formal, sometimes slips and calls the prince by his given name.

Those who want proof have it. But ever mindful of the prince's temper, they keep it to themselves.

o.O.o

_[The prince trudges back to the ship one night cranky, limping, and literally drenched in perfume. He makes a beeline for the lieutenant's room and flops down on his bed._

_ The lieutenant laughs, says that he smells like a Ba Sing Se whorehouse, and pours him a drink. The prince downs it and two more besides._

_ Later, they discover that under his armor he has more bruises than either of them has ever seen on a single body.]_

o.O.o_  
_

They both know that this can only be temporary. This is no deep and abiding love extolled in poems and songs—far from it, in fact.

This impermanence makes it a little easier when the Admiral separates them, a little easier to cope when word of the prince's assassination reaches the troops, and a little easier to accept the possibility of tragedy after the fleet is utterly ruined by the Ocean itself.

Easier, but hardly pleasant.


	9. Prompt 27: Sky, Peace or Freedom

**Title**: Peace or Freedom  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: K  
**Warning**: Another installment in my neverending "pairings that nobody cares about" series.  
**Words**: 500  
**Genre**: Romance, Friendship  
**Char/Pair**: Kuei/Yue, Chief Arnook, Long Feng  
**Summary**: Their marriage is a symbol. Neither of them know freedom or rebellion. Their guardians know that they will keep each other in line, and that's where they're wrong.  
**Note**: Slightly AU.

* * *

Long Feng and Chief Arnook agreed—it was the perfect match. The two young people knew what was appropriate and would keep each other out of trouble. Like any good father, Arnook had initially been apprehensive, but the polite respect with which the king _always_ treated Yue had reassured him. Daily they grew fonder of each other, and Arnook continually thanked the Ocean and the Moon that the negotiations for the choleric Fire Prince had fallen through as soon as they began. Appeasement was not worth his daughter's well-being. Long Feng, meanwhile, relished the message that the king's marriage to a foreign princess sent to the people of the city. _All is well. Look at our beautiful new queen. She would not have come all this way if there was any danger in the world._

But while the Chief and the Grand Secretariat were busy patting themselves on the back, their porcelain dolls were left to their own devices.

"This is my menagerie, my lady wife," said the king. Guards opened tall, green-and-gold doors into a lush paradise of trees and golden cages. Birds chirped and monkeys chattered, and occasionally the growl of a tiger could be heard through the noise. Obediently, Yue followed one step behind him into the menagerie, looking around in awe at the walls of green glass and the exotic creatures that peered at her from the vegetation.

"It's beautiful, my lord husband."

His face was open and earnest as he led her to a golden perch from which a white bird presided. It wore a crest of bright black feathers and a long red tail that nearly brushed the ground. "Pearl is an Imperial Crowned Cockatoo-Pheasant," he said. "They used to be found all over Ba Sing Se, but unfortunately they've become very rare." He held out his hand, and Pearl stepped onto his wrist.

Kuei offered her to his wife, who nervously extended her hand. Pearl flapped her wings and let out a shrill squawk as she was transferred.

"What's wrong with her feathers?" Yue asked, blue eyes wide and worried.

"Oh. Her wings are clipped, so she won't fly away."

"But shouldn't she be able to see the sky? She's a bird... it seems so cruel. To have no freedom..." Her lovely face fell, and Kuei felt a pang in his heart.

There was a long pause.

He took her hand, dainty and soft under the jeweled rings. "Yue... I've never been outside the palace," he confessed.

Yue thought about that. She had gone from a palace, to a ship, to a jewel-box carriage, to another palace. She too was a prisoner, as was her husband, as surely as Pearl was tied to the earth.

There was a festival in the city in two weeks' time. Chief Arnook and Long Feng were still congratulating themselves on a job well done even as Kuei and Yue, disguised as commoners, slipped away from home to have some fun.


	10. Prompt 28: Free, Rich Poor Royal Peasant

**Title**: Rich, Poor, Royal, Peasant  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: K  
**Words**: 500  
**Genre**: Gen, Humor, Family  
**Char/Pair**: Toph's parents, Toph/Haru, Everyone (canon pairings mentioned)  
**Summary**: The Bei Fongs wanted their daughter's wedding to be the talk of the province. They got their wish.  
**Note**: Several years post-series. Also, despite the pairing, this is more of a "class-clash exploration" than an actual shippy fic.

* * *

The Bei Fongs had been planning their daughter's wedding since the day she was born. The groom would be from one of the other old Earth Kingdom families—the Pangs, maybe—along with the rest of the guests. Everything would be very traditional but very lavish. It would be the talk of the province for years to come.

Of course, with Toph, nothing had ever gone according to plan. Lao and Poppy should not have been surprised when she wandered into their home one day, coated in dirt and sporting a prizefighting championship belt, and announced that she was getting married.

"Oh... that's wonderful, dear," Poppy managed to say while her husband choked on his tea. "Your fiance... do we know his family?"

"Probably not," Toph said. She let out a belch and put her feet up on the table. "His name's Haru."

Upon Toph's first visit after the war ended, her parents had been prepared for a great many things. It was difficult, but they eventually learned to accept the fact that she was her own person, with her own friends and interests. They were willing to be open-minded, to an extent. But even years later, they were _not_ prepared for the news that their only child was marrying the son of a coal miner.

"I hope you're at least planning on inviting guests of our social circle," Lao said once he had composed himself.

"Sure, Dad. Don't worry about it."

His relief was short-lived, however: the only old-blood guests she invited were the Dragon of the West, the Firelord, and his Lady. The Avatar was a better choice, as was his girlfriend and her brother, who were as close to nobility as anything the Southern Water Tribe had. The Kyoshi Warriors lent an exotic flair to the guest list, but that was as good as it got—the rest of the guests were costumed, perpetually in-character earthbenders, peasants in what passed for finery, forest-dwelling runaways, and some swamp-men who seemed to eschew clothing altogether.

One of the Firelord's wedding gifts was enough fine Fire Nation sake to fill Lake Laogai. Lao Bei Fong's patriotism was not enough to keep him from imbibing heavily in order to dull the pain of how far his daughter had fallen and his disgust at seeing her kiss that mustachioed, stupidly-grinning bumpkin.

Sometime during the night, as all the dancing and fireworks swirled around him, he struck up an inebriated conversation with a Warrior. Or maybe it was an earthbender. Or the Firelady. Or Haru's father. He couldn't really tell. Really quite a quality person, though.

The next morning, as he nursed his hangover and accepted a cup of tea from the Dragon of the West, he couldn't quite understand why he felt so... _content_.

The wedding was indeed the talk of the province for a long time, but not for the reasons he had imagined.

However, he couldn't find it in himself to care.


	11. Prompt 29: Travel, The Road to BaSingSe

**Title**: The Road to Ba Sing Se  
**Author**: amanda91  
**Rating**: K+  
**Words**: 500  
**Genre**: Gen  
**Char**: Ying and Than (that EK couple from season 2)  
**Summary**: It didn't matter who they were before, they were refugees now.

* * *

When the Fire Nation descended on their once prosperous town, Ying and Than were among the lucky ones. So many people died that day, either by fire or by the sword or by choking on the smoke and ashes that smothered everything in a hot, gray cloud. Those who weren't killed were sent to slave away in colonial factories.

Than was no warrior. His family had seen no earthbenders in four generations, and he had never even held a weapon.

So when the invaders came, he did all he could: he took his wife and his younger sister and ran.

o.O.o

All roads led to Ba Sing Se.

That was the word, no matter where they went. Ba Sing Se was safe. No one had ever broken through to the city, not in a hundred years of war or a thousand years of the city's existence.

Ba Sing Se: their only goal.

Time was running out, though. The baby was due any day now, and the roads were haunted by bandits and bored soldiers. It was safer if they managed to find a group to travel with, at least for a few miles. But most often, they were alone, utterly vulnerable.

o.O.o

"I like watching them," Ying said softly. They should have felt exposed, camping on a cliff next to a dark lake. But the fire's glow and the company of the Avatar and his friends were reassuring.

"They still know how to be young and happy," Than agreed. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Even after all that has happened. That continues to happen every day."

"Do you think he can end the war?" Ying whispered. The Avatar looked so young. To have such a responsibility on his shoulders...

"I hope so."

o.O.o

Hope should have been born at home, surrounded by family. Ying should have been able to rest comfortably afterwards. Than had been a successful paper merchant. He could have afforded the best care for them, had everything gone right.

But Katara was confident and experienced, despite her age. The others, despite being strangers until yesterday, were supportive and their presence was reassuring. It was private and surprisingly comfortable in Toph's earth tent. The birth went well and the baby was healthy.

Maybe it hadn't gone as planned. But at least they would have an interesting story to tell Hope someday.

o.O.o

In Ba Sing Se, life was hard, but rewarding. The little family had a small apartment and neighbors who understood. They worked with their hands and did their own cooking and cleaning whereas at home they kept a cook and a housekeeper. Life was simple but safe. That was all right. They had not come here to be rich, after all.

Ba Sing Se should have been safe.

What happened? No one knew. The day before had been normal. And then, suddenly, tanks and rhinos filled the streets.

When the walls came down, everything was taken from them once again.


	12. Prompt 30: Pirate, Lawless

**Title:** Lawless  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K+  
**Words:** 400  
**Genre:** Gen  
**Char/Pair:** June, Combustion Man, Toph, Zuko  
**Summary:** Four stories of rebellion.  
**Note**: This was originally going to be another five drabble collection. But I was literally writing right up to the deadline, so it's only four drabbles this time. ^^;;

* * *

"Fire Nation."

"Nope."

"Earth Kingdom."

"Nope."

"Well, you're not Water Tribe."

June tossed back her drink and glared at the sore loser across the table. The coins were still falling all around her as he nursed his bruised shoulder.

"Face it bub, you got beaten," she said, scooping all the money into a sack. "You can't hate me for being Fire Nation or claim me as Earth Kingdom. It doesn't matter. I won, you lost, and nationality has nothing to do with it."

He swaggered off, muttering.

Always the same. Every single time.

o.O.o

Everyone claimed that Agni Kai duels were humane, civilized. They had rules, customs. Ways to keep them from getting too bloody.

Not any more. Trappings of the past.

Deaths were common. There were no limits on the age or skill level of the person being challenged. Duels that used to end at first blood now went further.

No one cared before. But now, seeing the blackened husk of one combatant, both the hushed spectators and remaining firebender knew that a line had been crossed. Fire duels were not civilized when one wielded that kind of power.

He left before dawn.

o.O.o

"Ladieeeees and gentlemen! I present to you a new challenger for the Earth Rumble IV championship, a brand new contender from our very own city of Gaoling!"

It was time. No turning back. Toph took a deep, shuddering breath, adjusted her headband, and stepped up to the ring. Her opponent was already there, lumbering around and beating his chest like a monkey. Everyone was watching her. A cheer rose up from the crowd, thundering through the stone beneath her feet as they clapped and stamped their feet.

"The Bliiiind Bandit!"

_Hell yeah,_ she thought, smirking. _Bring it on._

o.O.o

Behind the mask, he was no one. Not part of any nation. Not a bender. Not a prince, exiled or otherwise. No one's son, brother, or nephew.

Hidden in the forest, waiting for night to fall, Zuko looked down at the inside of the mask in his hands. Once he put it on... everything would be different. What would have been treason if he did it wearing his own face was now the act of a rebel, or a spirit. The mask had no home, no name.

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was not doing this.

It _wasn't_ treason.


	13. Prompt 33: Trust, Growing Up

**Title:** Growing Up  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K  
**Words:** 500  
**Genre:** Friendship  
**Char/Pair:** Katara and Toph  
**Summary**: Toph becomes a woman and isn't happy about it. Katara tries to help.  
**Note**: Takes place during The Boiling Rock.

* * *

"Every girl experiences this sometime," Katara said to the earth tent next to her. "It's part of becoming a woman."

"But I don't want to become a woman," said a surly voice from within.

"Well, there's nothing you can do to stop it from happening. You'll get used to it eventually."

"Whatever."

Katara sighed and took Toph's pants out of the fountain. She'd done a pretty good job waterbending the stain out of the worn green fabric, making it look like there had been no stain of any kind. But even something so small had changed the younger girl's life forever and waterbending it out couldn't make it go away. Katara understood what that was like, but it didn't keep her from being annoyed. It wasn't the end of the world. It was just a part of growing up.

She laid the pants out to dry on a nearby rock. "Your pants are clean," she said. "Maybe while they dry off we can have a little talk."

"A talk about what, _Mother_?"

Katara gritted her teeth. "Important things," she said, just barely biting back the cutting retort that sprang to life on her tongue.

"So talk. I'm listening."

The waterbender opened her mouth, but she couldn't think of the proper place to begin. Gran Gran would know what to say. She'd taught so many girls this same lesson, about what growing up meant for a woman and her future. She'd taught Katara about it when she was a little older than Toph and already a grown woman in many other ways. And now it was her turn to teach those words of wisdom to someone else. No one had told her how hard it would be.

Aang had taken Haru, Teo, and The Duke to see the all-day echo chamber, and Sokka and Zuko were still out "fishing," so it was just the two of them. Their own little girls-only party by the fountain. It should have been easy to find the words that needed to be said. But every time Katara tried to speak, nothing came out.

"Are you going to talk, or are you just going to stand there like a stump?" Toph demanded from the inside of her tent.

Suddenly, Katara understood. She should have realized it sooner. Toph wanted to talk. She just didn't want to talk to Mommy Katara. Mommy Katara was the one who scolded her for being gross or yelled at her for doing dangerous things. But _regular_ Katara...

She sat down on the ground next to the tent. "When I first got my period, I cried for two days," she confessed.

"You're making that up," Toph said. "You were probably _so excited_ to finally experience the _joys of womanhood_."

"Nope. I cried until Gran Gran threatened to make me gut a crab-walrus by myself."

"Being a girl sucks, huh?"

"Yeah. Sometimes it really does."


	14. Prompt 35: Water, Yin and Yang

**Title:** Yin and Yang  
**Author:** amanda91  
**Rating:** K+  
**Words:** 489  
**Genre:** Gen  
**Char/Pair:** Aang(/Katara)  
**Summary:** Aang does not fear earth or fire.

* * *

Sometimes Aang still dreamed of drowning.

Deep, dark, icy water swallowing him up, cutting him off completely from his native element, crushing his body and filling his lungs and pressing in on all that was warm and light, snuffing out the feel of the sun or the breeze's gentle touch on his face.

Towering waves, black and crowned with white foam, crashing over him and carrying him further and further into the deep. He was unable to bend, unable to swim, unable to do anything to save himself.

Waking up was a relief, a deep gulp of air after holding his breath for too long. Katara was warm and real next to him—her mass of brown curls tickled his bare skin and her breath was a soft whisper on his ear.

The rain still made a steady drumming sound on the roof above them, concealing the sound of Aang's quick, rough breathing. He closed his eyes and sighed, letting the tension go with it.

He never dreamed of being crushed by rocks or burned alive, no matter how many times both of them had nearly happened for real. Sometimes he dreamed of being frozen still, never discovered, contained for centuries in the iceberg while the world burned, or the tides shifted and the flames along with their wielders were smothered by dirt and stone.

But Aang didn't fear earth or fire.

A thin, peevish cry started up from the next room. Silently and being careful not to disturb Katara, Aang got out of bed and crossed the floor. The girls were still asleep, bundled together under their favorite blanket with Momo curled up between them. The baby quieted almost immediately when Aang lifted him out of the cradle and held him close to his body.

"Shh," he whispered, and started pacing the room until his son went back to sleep.

Water was life. It was healing and adaptability and community. It was the woman he loved. It was a nation of people who were spiritual, fiercely loyal, and brave. It was almost as close to him as his airbending.

It was also heavy. Unforgiving. Cold and sharp as ice or boiling hot. So much good hid so much that was dark and terrifying. The depths of the ocean, filled with creatures that were all snapping jaws and bulging white eyes. An old woman in the forest, all life at her disposal.

It was the soft pitter-patter of the rain above his head, a warm summer shower that brought a green blush to the plants in his garden and made little sparkling pools in cupped flower petals. It brought out worms and insects that made the girls squeal with delight when they turned over rocks to see what was underneath. It collected in Katara's hair and looked like tiny, shining diamonds, just like the light in her eyes.

Aang sat down, closed his eyes, and listened to the rain.


	15. Winter Break: 10 Crack Pairings

**Title**: Ten Crack Pairings  
**Words**: 337  
**Genre**: Ostensibly romance; some are arguably gen  
**Rating**: T  
**Char/Pairs**: Pretty much everyone, and then some.  
**Summary**: Ten one-sentence crack pairing fics.

**Note**: Some are crackier than others, some are one-sided crushes, and some could be simply be friendship fics depending on how you interpret them. Also one is kinda rapey, so continue with that in mind.

This was written for one of the "winter break" prompts for Avatar 500. This option included taking ten one-word prompts from a list and writing a sentence for each.

* * *

**Past**

Jun ran a finger along the bent, blackened metal prosthesis and thought that they would have made a good team—even just once.

**Disapprove**

On the morning that Hakoda and Ursa were wed, their respective sons skipped the ceremony and instead got into the dirtiest, bloodiest, no-holds-barred fistfight that they could, because actually _talking_ about their feelings on the matter would have been unmanly.

**Truth**

Upon seeing the wanted poster, Jee knew exactly who this so-called "Blue Spirit" was—though he wouldn't have guessed if he hadn't already known that the prince was a master of _several_ forms of swordsmanship.

**Fruit**

The day that Momo discovered a particular pentapus' preference for lychee nuts was an awkward one for everyone else.

**Glimpse**

Sokka was smitten, of course, but the flash of white hair drew Katara's eyes as well, and she was surprised to find that she couldn't look away.

**Shatter**

Jet made a show of being hurt by Katara's hostility, but when she wasn't looking, he let his eyes drift past her to an oblivious Sokka—same as all the others... the handsome ones were always uninterested.

**Pain**

She was the perfect spoils of war, a beautiful Southern pearl to adorn the bed of a king... except on the night of the full moon, when she was locked away behind bars and chains and three doors in the bunker beneath the royal palace, only to return when the sun was well above the horizon.

**Promise**

An earthbender was supposed to be brash, tough, aggressive, fearless... not a sheltered intellectual who had been taught that developing his talent was beneath his station—there was only one person who had ever offered to teach him, so Kuei headed to Gaoling to accept Toph's challenge as soon as he could manage.

**Present**

Aang beamed from ear to ear when Mai devoured every last fruit pie that he made from scratch just for her.

**Hot**

"I thought your pigtails were silly at first, but I suppose they're tolerable... oh, there's my brother, would you like to help me bury him in the sand?"


End file.
